Ohio Early Voting Update

Last week, we discussed the early voting windows in various battleground states, but we fell victim to the artificial distinction between “early voting” and “in-person absentee voting” and misstated the window. It’s important enough to correct the record. Ohio early voting (in-person absentee) runs from September 30 through November 3.The bottom line is that as of early 2006, Ohio residents can cast ballots early, whatever the label applied to that action is. The significance of October 6, a call to the Secretary of State’s office confirmed, is that is Ohio’s deadline for voter registration. From Sept 30-Oct 6, early voting is a one-stop shop for unregistered voters. Beginning October 7, no-excuse-needed, in-person absentee voting is ongoing right through November 3, but only for registered voters. None of the ballots are counted until the polls close on Election Day.

Additionally, depending on the Ohio county, there may be alternate sites for voting. In smaller counties, the board of elections office might suffice, but in the larger counties such as Franklin and Cuyahoga, alternate sites to accommodate large numbers of voters will be available. For Ohio voters, the thing to do is check the Secretary of State’s website and click on your individiual county to get the location.

While we’re on the subject of updates, the convention buzz on the rainy and overcast St. Paul streets is all Sarah Palin, all the time. The media is buzzing hard around the seeming failure to vet Palin, including news of her association with an Alaska secession movement. But questioning Palin means you’re a chauvinist, says the McCain campaign. We’ll have more coverage of Day Two of the Sorta Convention later. In other early voting news, the Virginia board of elections office finally got around to returning a phone call. And Barack Obama has updated his stump speech, with tough luck for Nate: “God bless America, and f— you, Nate.” No love among Chicagoans, apparently.